a little softie bunny.....

So, I stumbled upon this super, cute (and FREE!) pattern for a softie bunny and I knew I wasn't going to be happy until I sewed one up for myself. I raided my fabric scraps and found some flannel check fabric and some cute blue floral fabric and in no time I had a sweet little bunny! If you decide to make this for a baby, I would use thread and sew the eyes, like I did the nose and not use buttons or anything that could be pulled off and swallowed.

I had to give her some sort of accessory, so I decided to make a fabric yo-yo and embellished ith with a button and some "leaves" that I made from ribbon. Now we just need to think of a good name for her........any suggestions? :-)

Dolled Up Hand Towel

Tonight I get to be the hostess for our monthly FarmGirls meeting and I can't wait! Last month, we were all given a plain hand towel and we were asked to decorate and wrap it. Tonight we are going to swap them! I was pretty stumped on how to decorate mine, until I found this super-cute idea with directions at Crafty Chica.

Here is what I came up with:

I had a hard time with my towel being black! Until I decided that nothing goes with black better than hot pink. I AM a child of the '80's! lol So, after the hard part was over, picking the colors, the rest of it came together really fast. I used a couple of my circle punches to punch out templates for the circles. I just held the circles together and sewed them in place with embroidery floss. I didn't pin or measure anything. lol After all of the circles were on, I then sewed on the buttons. I love the retro look of the ball fringe and to pull it all together, I added the pink dot ribbon along the edge of the towel.
And a close up of the circles.....I just had to add buttons......because....I just had to add buttons! lol I try to not be an over-embellisher, but sometimes it's hard! I think the buttons add a nice touch and really top off the circles.
This was a lot of fun to make and I might be making some more for my own kitchen!

Take care everyone.....I hope you're all doing well and having some time to be crafty!

Some ornaments to share......

Here are a couple of ornaments that I was able to make last week. We were totally snowed in for three days, so it was nice to have some fun projects to work on!
This little house ornament is inspired by this ornament that I found at the Orange Flower blog. My printer wasn't talking to our computer server when I decided to do this ornament, so I had to totally wing it with the pattern. I forgot that the original had windows and guessed on what size to make everything else. I still think that it turned out pretty, darn cute! The house is made from a scrap piece of white flannel and red scrap fabric that was left over from the tree skirt that I sewed last year. I embroidered on the year and I'll tell you about those flowers in a minute!
For this ornament, I used the pattern that I found at the author Jan Brett's website. I absolutely love her books! This heart ornament is made from white paper and red patterned paper. I added some rhinestones to each crossing of the paper, because I was trying to think of a way to jazz it up a bit!
Now, for the flowers, I used the tutorial that I found at Cheeky Magpie to make them. I really had a fun time making these and I can't wait to make some more! I used my Prima flowers and I just had to add some Diamond Dust to them....lol I think it kinda looks like snow on them and since we got over 12 inches of snow while I was working on these ornaments, it seemed fitting to add snow to my flowers. lol

I'm not sure if I will have time to make any more ornaments, but I hope that I can. I have started working on some 100% cotton, crocheted wash cloths for my kitchen and a couple of gifts. It's fun to be doing something different and still creative with my hands! And, we are getting more snow today and ice today. My kids missed three days of school last week! This is their last week of school before Christmas Break and I'm sure that they are hoping and praying that we have another snow storm roll through. Starting Christmas Break a few days early would really make them happy!

I do have lots more that I want to share with you all. Some favorite recipes and some great crafty links that I have found that you don't want to miss! I hope you are all doing well and keeping warm!

Wedding Pillow - Practical Scrappers Challenge

The challenge for this week at Practical Scrappers is sewing. I was going to make something new but with it being Thanksgiving weekend, my time got a little lost doing other things! Then I remembered that I had this pillow that I made years and years ago and I thought that it worked just perfectly for this weeks challenge! The idea is from an old Family Circle or Women's Day magazine. I cut out a big heart shape from a paper sack and used that as a pattern to cut two pieces of fabric. Then, I started sewing on all sorts of goodies to the top piece. Ribbon, lace, buttons, ribbon flowers, etc. I then made a frame from some flat lace to hold the photo. I sewed the front and back together and there ya go! A fun memory pillow! The picture is of me and my husband right after we got married and one of my all-time favorite photos of us. I've had this pillow on my bed for a LONG time! lol We will be celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary this June!

I hope you're all having a wonderful Thanksgiving!

An awesome list of tutorials.....

I stumbled upon this incredible list of sewing tutorials this morning and I wanted to share it with you. I am in total LOVE with the red, mushroom houses that are in the center photo. I have pretty much decided today that I am going to have to come up with some sort of creative-time schedule. There are just way too many things that I want to do and I'm not able to do any of them because get stuck working on just scrapbooking and do make any time for the other things that I would love to do. Right now, I'm thinking of just alternating days.....scrapbooking on one day, sewing on the next, then scrapbooking, and then sewing.....you get the idea. There are lots of things that fall into that sewing category, too. Clothes sewing for me, clothes sewing for GG, accessories and bags, softies and toys, home decor.....there are so many things that I want to do! I need to schedule my creative time somehow, because my right-sided and easily side-tracked brain isn't letting me get to all of the things that I want to. I'll let you know what I decide to do and I need to decide fast, because my stack of projects that I want to create is just getting bigger and bigger!

Anyway, here's this amazing link!

The Long Thread Top 100 Tutorials of 2008

Talk about lots and lots of super-cute goodies to make! I hope that you find something fun here to make, I know that I sure have!

Take care and happy crafting!

one unfinished project......finished!

Yeah, I had some success today! I was able to get a skirt made for GG. This pattern was super easy to sew and came together pretty fast. I will be making several more of these and maybe even try to make some winter-weight ones from super-cute fleece. I tried to get a better picture of GG in her new skirt, but it's pretty close to impossible to get a photo of her when she's not in motion! I hope that I have another productive day tomorrow!

unfinished projects.....

I have been having a pretty hard time being productive these past few months. I have had good intentions but have not been able to complete a single thing. So, this morning I gathered up a few of these unfinished projects and put them in a pretty basket and immediately started working on this skirt for Gracie. I will probably have to do some adjusting on the length of it, because she is such a little squirt, but besides that, I am hoping that I can have a finished skirt by tonight. I also want to run to the fabric store and buy some tulle so that I can make one of these tutus. How precious is that? Another thing that I need to work on is a lap quilt that I started awhile ago. I am ready to start adding hand-tied tacks to hold it all together. I do not have a walking foot for my sewing machine, so I can't even think about machine quilting it. Maybe I should ask for a walking foot for Christmas! Hopefully I will have some photos to share of some of these completed projects soon! I'm tired of starting things and not finishing them....it's time to start cranking out some super cute skirts instead!

recycled jeans tote

I turned a pair of Abby's old jeans that were too short into capri pants a week or so ago and I just couldn't throw away the cut-off ends of her jeans. I knew that I could make SOMETHING from them. lol Then it came to me when I saw them sitting on my counter.

A little tote bag!!!!! So after a little bit digging in my basket of fabric scraps, some sewing here and there, I ended up with this:


I was going to let Gracie play with it, but it turned out a lot cuter than I thought it would! I might have to borrow it from her sometimes! lol This was a super easy project, I didn't measure a thing, and pretty much went with whatever came to my mind. I have one more leg section to play with and turn into a tote. I can't wait to get started on it to see what I end up with when I'm done!

God Bless!
di

sewing bliss

A happy sewing spot in my mud room with a basket full of scraps and my new thread holder on the wall!

Yummy Moda fabrics for a lap quilt in my living room!

Freshly cut t-shrits stacked up for a t-shirt quilt.......

Birdie the Kitty - in progress on my ironing board

Lots have been going on here at the cottage in my mud room...... I cleaned it up and organized it a little differently last night, including putting all of my fabric scraps in a big basket and out where I can see them. I decided to wash them all before I put them in the basket. I know that's strange, but I figured that way they were all ready to be used; no pre-washing required! So, if I want to go in there, grab some scraps and sew up something simple, it's all ready to go. No waiting for it to wash and dry first. Last night I also started cutting out the pieces for this cute little kitty (scroll down to almost the bottom of the page, it's called Birdie the Cat pillow). As I was cleaning, I came across a box that hasn't been unpacked since our first move about 5 years ago. It was full of unfinished sewing projects! Eek! So, I tossed out what I knew I wouldn't ever make and put all of the patterns back together. What a mess. I found the beginnings of a cute purse that I was making out of Coke patterned fabric. I guess that will be one of the next things on my "to-sew" list. Then I came across a old quilt magazine that I've had for years that has a super-cute and super-easy baby quilt in it. I have made a couple of them for friends who were expecting. It is just one, huge Ohio Star block. The lightbulb went off in my little head and I decided to make a lap quilt for my living room with that pattern. I instantly thought of all of the faboulous Amy Butler and Moda prints that are out there, among other companies. The best part, is that I knew that my local craft store was having their 45th anniversary celebration all week and had different sales going on each day. This was meant to be, because today fabric was on sale at 30% off!!!! How awesome is that? I needed 4 prints and I got them each at 30% off. That totally beats one 40% off coupon for Joann's. lol I came home today with some totally yummy Moda fabric from the Woodland Bloom collection by Lila Tueller. The best thing that I came home with today is something that I have needed for years and years but just haven't ever gotten.....a thread holder! It's already up on my wall and full of spools of thread. I think it looks kinda pretty, too! So, that was my productive day......so far. I'm going to finish up my kitty tonight and hopefully start cutting out the triangles for my quilt. I can't wait to start working on that but I'm making myself finish one project before starting on the next..... no more boxes full of unfinished projects (I hope!!!) Oh, I forgot to mention that I started cutting some of my daughter's t-shirts into squares! I am going to make her a t-shirt quilt for her birthday. That one will be on the back burner for a month but I wanted to get those t-shirts taken care of and out of the way. Should be a fun quilt to make! More on that one later.......lol

God Bless!
di

quilted tote w/ crayon pockets

This was my project for today! I was so excited to actually START and FINISH something in the same day!!!! lol This is a pattern that I couldn't resist. The first thing that I thought of when I saw it was Gracie taking it to church on Sunday's and coloring during Mass. She loves to color and hopefully this will give her a little something to do instead of climbing all over the pews. :-) The pattern is from Clothesline Quilts and it was easy to sew together. The hardest part for me was doing the machine quilting for the body of the tote bag. I had ever machine quilted before, so I just kind of winged it and ended up with some wrinkles in it. I kept telling myself that it was a little bag to hold crayons and it didn't have to be perfect, Gracie would love it anyway. lol And she sure does! I can't wait to try this out this coming Sunday!

Did I forget to mention that this cute pattern for a quilted tote bag that holds crayons actually makes TWO totes???? How fun is that? The second one went together really fast since I knew what I was doing. I also finished the top a little differently. I rolled in the top edge and zig-zag stitched it, instead of folding it down once and then sewing it down with a straight stitch. I really love these fabrics too, but I'm a sucker for anything that's pink and green! (a true sign that I'm forever stuck in the 80's!)

God Bless,
di

p.s. Gracie was so thrilled with her 2 totes. At bedtime last night she brought them both into her room and put them in bed with her. I asked her if she had to sleep with them that night and she smiled at me real big and said, "Yep!". So I let her. Hey, you have to pick your own battles with these stubborn little ones and that was not a battle worth fighting! I quietly pulled them out from under her after she was sound asleep. lol

God Bless!
di

summer sewing has begun!

Well, I haven't been on here in forever. It has been a very busy month. April always is for us since we have 2 birthday's back-to-back. Yep, Chris and I are almost birthday buddies. lol What a way to spend my birthday! In the hospital having a baby. It's the best present I've ever gotten!

So, now that things have calmed down a bit I have been able to work on some projects, like sewing some summer clothes for Gracie. I bought 6 super-cute prints a few weeks ago at Joann's and I'm just now starting to sew them into clothes. The pattern above is McCall's M5303 and it was really easy to sew up. If I had uninterrupted time, I could have easily made the top and pants in one day. But, that's never going to happen, so I made the pants one night and the top another. You can click here to see the pattern that I used. When I'm done she will have 6 pairs of capri pants and 6 halter tops that should mix and match pretty well! I'm also wanting to sew her up some fun skirts. I have my eye on the Edith Twirl Skirt and I have a feeling I will be ordering it soon. I just love this skirt!!!!! I did pick this pattern, The Lucy Skirt by Bananafana, up over the weekend, because it was just too darn cute to not buy. lol It looks super easy and should be fun to make with different ribbons and such.

After going to the quilt stores over the weekend, I realized that fabric can be just as dangerous of an addiction as scrapbooking paper is! It is all so beautiful! The colors and prints! Wow! It could be very easy to spend a lot of money. But, part of the reason why I'm sewing clothes for Gracie is to save money, so I need to be careful. The prints from Joann's were on sale for $1.99 a yard and are normally $5+ a yard. Now that's a good deal!

God Bless!
di

button closure for reusable bags

I absolutely love the little, reusable bags that Whole Foods has come out with! It's about a quarter of the size of a regular, reusable bag and actually holds quite a bit. I love mine so much that I keep it in my purse so that I always have it with me to use. The only problem is that it kept coming unfolded in my purse, so over the weekend I sewed some buttons on it and a ribbon, loop closure. I'll to my best to explain what I did here!

Supplies:
basic sewing supplies (needle, scissors, etc.)
fray stop or clear nail polish
ribbon
floss to match
2 buttons - I used a button w/ a shank for the button that the ribbon loops around that is sewn at the bottom of the bag

1. I just eyed this part, but if you want to you can measure to the middle of the top your bag and then down a couple of inches and mark w/ a pen. Do the same on the bottom on the same side. Fold up your bag just to make sure that when your bag is folded in half, you can see a button on each side. When the bag is open, the buttons will be on the same side of the bag. Hope that makes sense! Fold your bag in half and take your ribbon and hold it at one marked spot on the bag, loop it up and around to the other side of the bag (like if you were actually going to loop it around a button) and back down to where you started. Add about 1/2 inch and then cut. Sorry. I didn't measure! I just eyed it and made it work. lol Put fray stop or clear nail polish on each end of the ribbon and let dry.

2. Fold each end in about 1/4 of an inch and loop the ribbon so that the two ends are together. Hand stitch about 1/8 inch from the end.

3. Place ribbon on top of your bag where your mark is and stitch into place.


4. Just for fun, I added a button on top of the ribbon! It's purely decorative. :-)

5. Stitch the button with the shank to the bottom of your bag.

6. That's it! Fold your bag in half and loop the ribbon around the button and there you go! Nice and neat and really cute!


7. Here's what it looks like from above so you can see both buttons. And a closer show of the just-for-fun button on the ribbon. :-)


I hope this made sense! I am by no means someone qualified to instruct people on how to make something. lol Especially when I just made this up as I went a long! I used my buttoned bag the other day at Whole Foods and my cashier really loved it. I do too!!!

Enjoy and God Bless!
di